Saturday, January 23, 2021

Caffeine crunch.

I know I said I wasn't going to do it. Every shopping trip I could hear its siren call -- "Buy me! You love coffee! You love cereal!" But nay nay! I had told my blog readers last August that I would not try the new Dunkin' Donuts (I still don't want to drop the Donuts) cereals. To quote the Beets, "I eat my sugar cereal, but it makes my teeth bacterial..." So I was going to be strong and pass it by.

Nor do I think many other people were excited about these Post products, because last week they turned up in the bargain bin, a buck a box. 

Sold! 


Okay, I was very curious about a coffee-flavored cereal, since I am such a coffee hound. Also, Mr. Breakfast still has no reviews for the new Dunkin' branded cereals, so I am left to review them myself, or at least the Caramel Macchiato one shown here. The Mocha Latte one will have to wait for another time, if indeed it still costs a buck.

So, what's it like? Well, the brown balls do taste like sweet, strong black coffee crossed with General Mills' Kix cereal. If you like the taste of coffee, you'd like this taste; it is a very good representation of the Dunkin' flavor. The tan marshmallows are the caramel, and they also hit the flavor mark. Overall the marshmallows give it a very Lucky Charms-like consistency. I found it tasty dry or with milk. 

I do wonder about the market for this product, though. Obviously a mature manly man like myself, someone who wouldn't order a Caramel Macchiato on a bet, is not the customer Post would expect to be a regular buyer. Teens? Dunkin' isn't hip enough for them. If we had a Starbucks in the middle of town, the teens would all be going there instead of the two Dunkin's. Adults? Stuff's not healthy for us grown-ups, and it isn't filling -- a big bowl left me starving for lunch at eleven. Children mostly don't like coffee. Although the Dunkin' History on the back of the box looks like it was designed for children.


The Dunkin' cereal may be in trouble. The bargain bin sale may have been a sell-off or a last shot at developing a fan base. It's still on Post's web site as of today, where reviews are 92% positive, 4.5 of 5 stars, but that tells us little. 

I've examined many Dunkin' crossover products on this site, from Pop-Tarts to Oreos to beer, and none of them have stuck around -- except the beer (Harpoon's Dunkin' Coffee Porter). Post might have been better served selling this cereal as a limited edition, as with the Oreos and Pop-Tarts. They could always un-limit it if it took off. 

Meanwhile, Dunkin' can contact DeKuyper about making Dunkin' Coffee Schnapps. Sounds like a winner in this cold weather, huh?

3 comments:

peacelovewoodstock said...

I'd buy THAT for a dollar!

In the what were they thinking department, who remembers "Crunchy Loggs"?

https://image.pennlive.com/home/penn-media/pgmain/img/food/photo/crunchy-loggsjpg-e6df968df40ecaba.jpg

Yum! Cereal shaped like little brown turds! But do they get soggy in milk??

Fiendish Man said...

There have been so many oddball branded cereals coming out over the last few years, but I never tried any of them, partially due to the expense, but now because they're not keto. Coffee, unlike donuts, is very keto, but I've never liked coffee. People treat it like something you're supposed to do as an adult, and HOW DARE YOU if you don't. Coffee drinkers are the modern day lotus eaters.

FredKey said...

All I can say, Fiendish, is HARUMPH! But you are entitled to your own tastes.

As for Crunchy Loggs, Mr. Breakfast has 70 votes for it as all-time favorite cereal, but one reviewer noted, "An odd cereal... yum. Little brown logs makes me think of something other than cereal though. . .;)"

https://www.mrbreakfast.com/cereal_detail.asp?id=118

Unbelievably there were also strawberry flavored Loggs, which look like you'd better see your proctologist stat. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/375839531387609721/